Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
>> Abul Hussam, a chemistry professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, was awarded the Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability. The Bangladesh-born US citizen was awarded by the Lake-Forest, USA-based Grainger Foundation for his work on a filtration system that prevents serious health problems caused by arsenic in water. >> …
the us environment agency recently slapped a fine of us $1.5 million on the agro-giant Syngenta Seeds Inc for selling seed corn that contained a genetically engineered pesticide. On December 21, 2006, the Environment Protection Agency (epa) fined the firm for using Bt 10-engineered seed corn, since the pesticide was …
the brown haze over north-India's sky could portend a dry future. Caused by liquid pollutants suspended in air, the aerosol cloud, infamous for its effects on crops and human health, may result in localised decrease of rainfall. Aerosols reduce speed of winds near the earth's surface, thus leading to reduction …
ARE you giving or selfish in nature? Researchers at the Duke University Medical Centre have discovered that activation of a particular brain region predicts whether people tend to be selfish or altruistic. "This may give clues to the origins of important social behaviours like altruism," says Scott A Huettel, a …
From now on, McDonald's-uk will be sourcing its coffee beans from farms certified by the New York-based global non-profit Rainforest Alliance. Starting January 10, 2007, all McDonald restaurants in the uk and Ireland have started selling exclusively Kenco coffee
birth and death of stars has intrigued scientists all along. A recent study has dispelled the notion that massive stars die with violent accompaniments such as bursts of light and ejection of chemicals (also called supernova explosion). Astronomers have stumbled upon a class of such stars that die silently. On …
us President George W Bush signed a legislation in the second week of January, aiming to prevent over-fishing in the us waters and strengthening protection against further depletion of dwindling stocks. The act overhauls the existing legislation known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
The amount of nicotine that us smokers typically inhale per cigarette rose by 11 per cent from 1998 to 2005, perpetuating a "tobacco pandemic' that makes it harder for smokers to quit, according to a study by Harvard School of Public Health. The researchers analysed data submitted by major cigarette …
researchers from usa and Denmark have confirmed an association between increased exposure to persistent organic pollutants (pops) like polychlorinated biphenyls (pcb) and decreased antibody production in children vaccinated against tetanus and diphtheria. Action against pops was initiated in the early 1970s. The Stockholm Convention, banning use of pops, was signed …
forest fires hasten mercury accumulation in the soil and catchments, say researchers of Michigan University. According to them, forest foliage are huge mercury traps. When burnt, the mercury accumulates in the soil. Since it has been predicted that global warming will lead to an increase in forest fires, this could …
In August and September 2006, patients with cancer, lawyers for patient advocacy groups, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) converged on the offices of Novartis in Mumbai, India, to protest the company's efforts to obtain an Indian patent on Gleevec, the company's brand-name version of imatinib mesylate. Gleevec (spelled Glivec …
satellite data may soon allow scientists to predict regions that face the risk of wildfires. A study shows that the data can track wildfire before it strikes. Earlier, scientists used satellite observations to find out the exact location of wildfires besides monitoring their movement. The paper was published in the …
Environmental studies may no longer be a part of the US forest management plans. The United States Forest Service recently decided not to write lengthy and time-consuming environmental impact statements, particularly while revising the national forest plans. Forest service officials have estimated that planning and assessment activities consume 40 per …
queen bees, the reproductive females in a colony of bees, are considered promiscuous. But nature has made them so, because it helps boost disease resistance of the colony by increasing the genetic diversity of the offsprings the bees produce. Scientists have proved that by indulging in sexual relationships with multiple …
research carried out by scientists of the Washington University, Missouri, usa, has shown that microbes are responsible for obesity. It's a good news, because the research indicates that manipulating microbes can control obesity. The study was published in the December 21 issue of the journal Nature (Vol 444 No 7122). …
US court lowers Penalty: In one of the longest-running non-criminal cases in US legal history, for the third time a US appeals court has ordered to cut down around US $2 billion from the US $4.5 billion that was to be paid as punitive damages by Exxon Mobil for an …
a case on global warming, a first in the history of the us Supreme Court, was recently taken up for oral arguments. This, despite inaction by the government and a highly polarised court. The case, Massachusetts vs Environmental Protection Agency (epa) concerns the federal environmental agency's refusal to regulate carbon …
The Global Language Monitor has named "sustainable' the top word of 2006, and "stay the course,' the top phrase. The San Diego, usa, based organisation's annual list also cited "Darfur', the war-torn region of Sudan, as the top name of the year. The monitor said "sustainable' was used frequently over …
